


Year of the Dragon

by PunkHazard



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-13
Updated: 2012-08-13
Packaged: 2017-11-12 01:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/485336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkHazard/pseuds/PunkHazard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Fucking dreads," Hiruma says, and cracks his gum, "you should think twice about that scholarship." (Hiruma, Kurita and Musashi go to Shinryuuji.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "If you can do it, you might be worth more than the dirt under my feet."

**Author's Note:**

> _“Speak politely to an enraged dragon.”_  
>  ― J.R.R. Tolkien

"Fucking dreads," Hiruma says, and cracks his gum, "you should think twice about that scholarship."

Agon scuffs his shoes on the astroturf of the field where Hiruma had called him, that fatty Kurita conspicuously absent. As a favor to his sometimes-partner in crime (and because a chick with a nice ass had agreed to meet with him and the place she chose happened to be close to Deimon), he had agreed to show up and hear him out, but his mouth turns up in a sneer and he crosses his arms over his chest. "How did you know I even applied for that, trash?"

"Your fucking twin told me! Kekeke, he says you can pass the test easy so I'm about to show you something you've never seen before." The boy beside Hiruma, who looks about fifteen years older than he probably actually is, frowns, an expression that reminds Agon so much of Unsui that he wants to punch it off his face. Hiruma finishes with all of his usual flashiness and bravado, "I'm taking a risk on you, fucking dreads. You're about to meet one of my trump cards."

"Aah?" Agon's voice barely changes from his usual arrogant drawl, but Musashi sees his gaze flicker over to him, cool and calculating; it's as if he were staring into the eyes of a predator. Agon decides that he's going to fucking kill Unsui when he gets home for getting him to go out of his way like this. "You're telling me that old man can play football?"

"Takekura Gen. I can kick," Musashi says, deciding that he isn't intimidated in the least. 

Hiruma gestures at the five balls set up on kick tees at the 50-yard mark. "He's the legendary Musashi, bastard. Bask in his glow."

"Five chances to kick 50 yards?" Agon raises an eyebrow. He's yet to meet a student-- high school or middle school-- who can kick that far. Sneering, he says, "Well if you can do it, you might be worth more than the dirt under my feet."

"No," Musashi replies, mouth set in a grim line, "I'm going to kick 50 yards five times," and then proceeds to do so. Each kick is wildly different, rough and uncontrolled, but they all make it through. The most important part-- the _power_ \-- it's there.

"He's taking the Shinryuuji test, but he's not going unless Kurita is," Hiruma says, eyes narrowed.

"As if I want to play with shitty pieces of trash like you and that fat trash on my team," Agon retorts, immediate and automatic. He looks at Musashi again, then turns around and walks away.

* * *

Agon doesn't kill Unsui when he gets home-- he's in the middle of studying for Shinryuuji's entrance exams. The older twin is bent over a practice book, pencil scratching in decisive little strokes in the margins, a look of deep concentration on his face. The scrawling slows down as he reaches the end of a problem, then stops. Agon glances over his brother's shoulder and decides that he could ace that test easily.

"What do you need, Agon?"

"You called Hiruma," he accuses, even though he's already decided that he could use a freakishly powerful kicker on the team.

"He called me."

"Why the fuck did you tell him?"

"I looked at Shinryuuji's roster," Unsui says, starting on the next problem, methodical and calm and focused. "There's a kicker, but he's only consistent from within thirty yards."

Agon can hardly believe this is the same brother who'd cried his eyes out in front of the shrine only a few weeks ago. "I can kick," he snarls, but he can't make the goal from fifty yards. Most players can't, so it's not as if they'll be at a disadvantage. Besides, with him on the team, how many other sure things does the Shinryuuji Naga even need? Agon takes off his shades, sets them on his desk and crosses his arms over his chest, eyes boring into the back of Unsui's head.

"It's your decision," Unsui says, turning his attention back to his work, "Kurita Ryoukan is getting the scholarship if you tell the coach that you'll just get in the normal way. You already know all this material."

* * *

"I can't believe you managed to talk your fucking brother into it," Hiruma says at the entrance ceremony, new robes draped loose over his skinny frame. "Or out of it, I guess."

"He made the decision on his own," Unsui demurs, "Agon knows a great player when he sees one."

From behind him, someone exclaims, "Unsui-kun!"

"Dodge," Hiruma says, and Unsui has no idea what he means, but before he has a chance to comply, he's squashed under 145kg of lineman and swept into a pair of arms as thick as his head. Kurita swings him around in a wide, fast circle, happy tears splashing on the crown of Unsui's head. Musashi joins them after a few seconds of Unsui trying to politely extricate himself, but it takes Hiruma pulling an assault rifle for Kurita to set him back on his feet, swaying.

"Thanks," he says weakly, and Musashi steadies him with a hand on his shoulder. "But I didn't just do it for you."

"Oh yeah?" Hiruma says. "Then why did you do it, fucking monk?"

"Agon's at his best when Hiruma Yoichi is involved," and here Unsui looks at Hiruma, trying to read him as so many other people have before. Agon, who never puts his all into anything unless he's livid with rage, and the one person who can incite it on a whim. Not that he wants Agon to be angry all the time, but with Hiruma on the team, Unsui expects that he'd show up more just to piss off the other quarterback. "So I thought I might as well involve you."

Musashi runs a hand over the beginnings of stubble on his chin, then nods. "I'm finally starting to see how you two are related."

"How are they alike in the fucking least, fucking old man?" Hiruma asks, completely rhetorically, mouth already curving up into a wicked grin.

"Something like... they both hate to lose, right?"

* * *

"This place is pretty fucking shitty, Unko," Agon says, kicking his suitcase into the closet of their dormitory, tipping a futon out of it and then flopping on top. "And we're across the hall from that trash."

Unsui rooms with Agon because they're siblings and everyone else is too scared to live with him. Unsui's fine with it because Agon won't spend much time there anyway and Agon's fine with it because Unsui keeps the place clean and stays on his own side. Agon's already got his phone out, raising it over his head and pointing it at the window, face breaking into a smile when he finally gets a signal, lighting up like a little kid's. 

He also gets a text, which is when his expression shifts into a smug grin and he dials back instead, voice low and smooth and calming... which means he's definitely talking to a girl.

Unsui ducks out of their room and down the hall to greet the rest of their dorm-mates.

* * *

Kurita sets down approximately 140 kilograms worth of shotguns, rifles, machine guns, photographs and football paraphernalia on the floor in the middle of Hiruma and Musashi's room. "Okay," he announces cheerfully, "that should be all of it!"

Musashi's eyeing the pile like a math or geometry problem, as if trying to figure out how they can stow all the weaponry into their closet without giving away that Hiruma's keeping an arsenal in his room, but decides that they can figure that out for later. Besides, the owner of said guns is pulling out a blueprint approximately in the shape of a bunker the exact shape and size of their room. "It might work," Musashi muses as he takes in the measurements, "there's nothing under this dorm."

Kurita's looking between the pile and Hiruma-- torn between wanting Hiruma to be happy and _oh god my best friend is an absolute lunatic_. "Can Takekura Construction take on a side job, Musashi?"

"Yeah. I'll be enough for this job, but it'll take a few weeks."

Hiruma nods, pulls his laptop out of his backpack and sets it on the low table in the center of their room. There's no wireless so he whips out his phone and piggybacks on its signal instead.

"We're finally here," Kurita says breathlessly, running to the window and sticking his head out of it, inhaling the wild mountain smell of Shinryuuji's surrounding forest. "It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

"We're finally here," Musashi repeats, as if reassuring Kurita. He's pacing around the room, counting the steps along each wall, already tallying the materials they'll need. 

Hiruma snorts. "About fucking time."

* * *

Agon meets Cerberos and Unsui doesn't know if it's love at first sight or an intense and immediate hatred. Unsui assumes both: the dog is a monster the likes of which only people like Hiruma and Agon can truly understand and appreciate, but he's still Hiruma's dog so Agon dislikes him on principle.

Of course, Cerberos is a small dog and he's made a lot of enemies over time; most of them he can handle on his own but on the day he really meets Agon he's drastically outnumbered and Agon comes across a crowd of much larger dogs surrounding him, he stops to watch. Cerberos holds his own like a pro, but he's wearing down when Agon decides to step in; not so much because he has any modicum of respect for the dog, but now Hiruma owes him a favor for bailing out his shitty mutt.

That doesn't explain why he tosses food scraps to the dog whenever he's in range during lunch, though, or why Cerberos runs past Agon whenever he gets in over his head or why Agon usually aims a few kicks into the pack of trailing mongrels, enough to send at least a couple running away with their tails between their legs.

It's a little ironic that Agon's relationship with a dog is miles better than with its master, but it's not as if Cerberos is going to go around telling everyone how good Agon is at belly rubs (the one-in-a-century prodigy is great at _everything_ and he's not about to let anyone forget it, even if it's a dog).

* * *

Agon is also convinced that Hiruma times his dorm drop-ins precisely to hours he's hung over and trying to sleep in. 

He bursts into the room, guns blazing, looking for Unsui on Sunday mornings, the one day they don't have practice (not that Agon goes anyway) that his brother uses to study, so he's quiet instead of lifting the 20kg weights he keeps in the closet or doing push-ups with textbooks on his back.

Agon always decides that as soon as his head stops pounding and someone turns off the sun, he's going to crawl out of bed and make sure Hiruma never fucking walks again. The plans never really materialize; Unsui usually insists they take the discussion out of the room to let Agon sleep off the night before, and he usually gets back right when Agon wakes up for real, usually with some food (twin telepathy has its benefits). Agon supposes that his brother is far too used to deflecting and rerouting and distracting _complete psychopaths_. 

(No, the irony isn't fucking lost on him.)


	2. "When did you even get your hands on my phone?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (spring)

Yamabushi Gondayu takes Kurita under his wing immediately. Ikkyu starts because there really isn't a cornerback who can exceed his level of skill-- he's been playing since middle school, but never aginst Maoh so Hiruma doesn't have his stats. Unsui and Agon, who grew up in Kanagawa, have known him since their second year of middle school; Unsui when he'd gone to scout other teams and Agon when Unsui couldn't stop talking about him. ("He's _our age_ , Agon.") 

Agon's read the rule book, to Unsui's knowledge, exactly zero times, but he knows enough from osmosis and the many, many college-level games Unsui watched on TV. At the few practices he attends, he and Unsui sync so perfectly on the rehearsal runs of the Dragon Fly that coach has him run it with Hiruma. Agon and Hiruma don't have the same rhythm and near-telepathy of a sibling Dragon Fly, but they're on the same demonic wavelength. 

Sendoda puts Unsui and Hiruma on the second-string team during scrimmages to polish their quarterback combo-- which means they're facing down both Yamabushi and Kurita, with Ikkyu gunning to intercept the ball as it moves between them. 

The first few runs go well: Hiruma's quickness and sleight of hand meshing well with Unsui's wide, careful field of vision, two cerebral players complementing each other's styles. They beat the first string team most of the time (the first string has great players but strategists they are not), and playing alongside the starters, trash the second-string every time. Against each other, Hiruma wins if he has Kurita on his team; Unsui with Ikkyu. Their play styles are drastically different only on the surface, so the Nagas are predictably the most versatile team in Kantou.

In terms of win percentage, Unsui and Hiruma are neck and neck (and they're both keeping score.)

A practice game against the Poseidons starts off with an early Shinryuuji lead, but Unsui still spends the first quarter grumbling about Agon and how he'd ignored all his calls and texts. Hiruma grins and tells him to check the number on his phone, then flashes a message list full of _Agon the game is about to start_ s, _AGON GET HERE NOW_ s and _WHERE ARE YOU_ s on one of his spares.

"When did you even get your hands on my phone?" Unsui asks as a headache starts at the base of his skull and works its way out. He changes Agon's number back.

"I wanted to see the Dragon Fly in action without that fucking bleach-head in the way," Hiruma says, and leaves it at that.

"Hiruma-san is _oni_ scary," Ikkyu whispers to Unsui during a timeout, "but this play is great!"

The game ends 38 - 3, a comfortable Shinryuuji lead. Coach has the team run nine laps around the school, three for each point they gave away.

* * *

Coach Sendoda keeps the twins hidden when the Spring Tournament starts, along with Musashi and Hiruma, forcing them through a hellish training regimen that all but Agon attend with religious fervor. When Agon shows up to practice, he usually takes up Ikkyu's challenges to a catching battle-- sometimes on the ground, sometimes aerial, and Hiruma's usually the one throwing while Unsui works on memorizing the line's movements; he already knows Agon's.

Musashi and Hiruma play their first game against Ohjo's graduating Golden Generation, the final game of the Spring Tournament after blazing through Zokugaku, Sado and Taiyo.

Yamabushi struggles mightily against Ohjo's defense despite the strength of Shinryuuji's line-- it's difficult to fight so many heavyweight powerhouses and they're intent on crushing him with more than just their center. Kurita's appearance turns the tides easily; with Hiruma's tactics, trick plays completely different from Shinryuuji's normal by-the-books strategy, and Musashi's enormous kicks, the two touchdowns Ohjo scores are quickly overtaken and neatly exceeded.

* * *

The team recognizes the existence of Dark Unsui during their first summer training camp. Practically the entire school clears out for the week-long vacation, which the Nagas use as prime time to employ the institution's resources to their fullest extent for five full days, dawn to dusk. It's usually late afternoon, when everyone's stamina and attention span begins to flag, that Unsui's patience grows short and he starts looking and acting more like Agon on a bad day. 

Musashi and Kurita make sure to stay off his radar; Ikkyu never needs much correction anyway and Hiruma enjoys it more than anyone has any right to.

Dark Unsui snaps at his teammates for minor screwups that normal Unsui would calmly correct, and he takes no pains to ensure that each play is educational for both offense and defense. He mostly emerges during the last few minutes of their traditional scrimmage matches, pulling out the most brutal and challenging plays for whichever side he's playing, usually with only a passing consideration of the rest of the team's condition.

Dark Unsui is exactly like Game Unsui, who Ikkyu always likes to see. Agon does, too, so on all five days, he shows up to play the final practice games, always on his brother's side-- which means they're the only games Hiruma _never_ wins.

* * *

Those five days are also prime time for Agon to use Shinryuuji's hot springs when the team's training and the school is empty. It's not uncommon for Unsui to pass a pretty girl on the way back to his and Agon's room for a change of clothes in the middle of the day or when they're jogging by the dorms before dinner. No one mentions it, but one night Unsui runs into Agon on the way back to their room, and he looks like he's seconds away from throwing something out the window.

"Agon?"

"I can't fucking believe that bitch!"

"Agon, everyone's asleep."

"So we're in the cemetery, right," Agon storms into the room, flipping the lights on and shedding his clothes as he goes, "and she starts crying about something pushing her or some dumb shit like that."

There have been stories about how the cemetery by their school is haunted (the Saiyuki Trio can vouch for that) but Unsui doesn't interrupt, only peels the blanket of his futon back and sits to watch Agon pace around the room, pretty clearly frustrated with _everything_. 

"So I turn around and there's a fucking face between some trees," he continues while Unsui tries to stave off a panic attack, finishing the story by saying that the face had faded after he threw a rock at it, and then the girl he was with was too scared to head deeper in to where he'd already set up a blanket and some food and alcohol so she went home instead.

So he spent the next hour hunting down the bastard who interrupted, and there were probably a couple people in there trying to trip him up because he had heard other voices, but the cowards ran off after a few minutes of his rampage and the place had gone quiet. And they had better not fucking get in his way the next time he decides to go back and Unsui is pretty sure that if anyone can unhaunt the place by scaring the shit out of any ghosts who inhabit the cemetery, it'd be Agon. He's glad that it's probably ghosts rather than some actual creeps stalking his brother, though.

(It also occurs to him that this could be why neither of them had ever been afraid of _monsters_ as kids; Agon's not afraid of anything and Unsui was convinced anyway that anything that crossed his brother would regret it. One, because Agon was brilliant and aggressive even then and two, because he's Kongo Unsui's little brother and nothing gets away with messing with family.)

He gets a text from Hiruma a few days after summer break is over about how reports of paranormal activity around the cemetery's died down pretty suddenly, which cracks him up in the middle of math but thankfully he's at the back of the room and pretty quiet about it.

* * *

They get a trip to one of Hakone's oldest and most prestigious onsen (Coach's best friend owns the place so they get a special discount for helping with chores) as a reward for the punishing week. Agon goes, of course; he sleeps most of the train ride there, only waking up to text or call the girl he plans to meet. Unsui, Hiruma, Ikkyu and Musashi are the only ones in the compartment with him; Hiruma teaches everyone how to play Hold'em and he (predictably) thrashes all of them. 

Unsui and Musashi are both cautious players, so their losses aren't extravagant (and they've both won a few hands), but Ikkyu's competitive and Hiruma knows how to bait him. If they were playing with money, he'd be in so much debt that he'd probably still be paying it off after they've all graduated from college. Luckily, they're playing with truths and dares instead of money.

So they learn that Hiruma can in fact get the window of a bullet train open without setting off any alarms and Ikkyu can definitely snatch a wadded-up candy bar wrapper that they threw out from the front of the train as it passes their car, that he's wearing dark blue briefs, that the chakra on his forehead is actually a mole, that the last time he wet the bed was when he was seven and that if he absolutely had to kiss one member of the Naga it would be Unsui.

(He apologizes, of course-- but Unsui takes it in stride like he always does until Hiruma suggests that Ikkyu not express that thought in front of Sanzo and then he spends the next ten minutes with his face in his hands.)

* * *

The mens' side of the bath is rowdy, and the line is lamenting about how Shinryuuji had rented out all the facilities for the weekend, so they can't even peep. Unsui's soaking in a far corner with a towel over his eyes, and Ikkyu holding up the conversation. Musashi interjects occasionally but it's by far the most normal corner. It's also the area closest to the womens' bath.

Every single head whips around as the sound of a feminine giggle wafts over the partition. Hiruma rolls his eyes from his position on the edge of the basin and exchanges an exasperated look with Musashi as the entire crowd of boys around him, sans Kurita, charges for the wall, voices lowered in furious whispers. 

Unsui's already hauling himself out of the bath after a quick word with Musashi, wrapping his towel around his waist as he goes, which is the exact moment another voice joins the first. It's low and smooth, and the team recognizes it immediately as Agon. 

Agon, who's in the women's bath. 

With a woman. 

"Oh my god," Goku hisses after a few seconds with his ear pressed against the damp slats of the partition, "oh my god, that's really him."

Yamabushi looks torn, as if he hadn't been just as quick to hurry over as the rest of the team, but he staunchly backs away and lowers himself back into the water near Musashi into Unsui's just-vacated space. "Are they doing anything? Er-- I mean, come on guys, that's none of of our business!"

Ikkyu glances after Unsui, back at the wall, after Unsui and then at the wall again, but opts to follow the quarterback out. Hiruma and Kurita aren't far behind, and they change into the provided yukata, then head for the room Agon's sharing with Unsui (which they figure the younger twin won't really be using tonight anyway).

Kurita's peering out from behind two cards halfway through their first round of Hold'em to ask Unsui, "Who do you think that was?"

Without missing a beat, he nudges a stack of 10-yen coins into the center of the table. "The owner's daughter."

"He's oni-fast, huh," Ikkyu says as he calls the bet, "we've only been here four hours."

"No, he started..."

Hiruma raises the ante, cracks his gum and interjects, "A week ago."

"Yeah. When we first heard about the trip." Unsui pauses, calls the raise, then turns a stern glare on Hiruma. "Did you--"

"He found out himself. If it's women, the fucking bleach-head doesn't need me."

Unsui rolls his eyes. "That's only technically true."

"Well in _this case_ , I wasn't involved," Hiruma snaps, then tosses his cards face-up on the table. "Now show your fucking hands."

Ikkyu folds his cards face-down with displeased twist of his lips, and Kurita shows his with a despondent expression. Unsui's hand is the same as Hiruma's: a straight to queen, so they split the pot evenly before Hiruma collects the cards on the table and shuffles the deck.

Musashi joins them not long after and a few hours later, Agon arrives to the sight of all five of them trying to throw cards into a pile of towels in the corner, arranged into the shape of a bowl. Hiruma and Unsui have pinpoint accuracy, though Unsui hands over the remainder of his deck when Agon stops behind them to watch, before he can yell at everyone to get the fuck out of his room. 

He sends exactly nine cards spinning effortlessly one by one into the wall, ricocheting off to land almost exactly in the middle of the towel-bowl. "Agon-san," Ikkyu says, tugging on the hem of his yukata and handing over the rest of his stack, "we're not allowed to bounce them off the walls. But that's oni cool too."

Agon rolls his eyes and with all the grace of a veteran quarterback, throws the rest of the cards two and three at a time into the pile so hard the towels nearly collapse-- Ikkyu fixes it up as he retrieves the cards in and around the target for the next round. No one comments on the fact that the younger Kongo twin is playing a stupid, pointless game with the only group of people he collectively only gives half a shit about.


	3. "We're going to the Christmas Bowl!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (fall)

Shinryuuji breezes through the Fall Tournament in Kanagawa. Taiyo's line gives them hell but runs up against the Naga's incredible defense. The Sphinxes score one painstaking touchdown in the first few minutes, but then Coach adjusts the defense and they never score again.

Agon and Unsui debut against Ohjo's Shin Seijuro in the final five minutes during the last game of the Kantou Tournament, and it's one of the few times Unsui's ever seen Agon buckle down and focus. A few linemen are out with injuries so Shin attacks from the sides more often than Kurita and Yamabushi can stop him. Agon gets hit with Shin's Spear Tackle only once and never makes that mistake again, in the three touchdowns and field goal it takes for them to outscore the White Knights and win. 

Unsui's already back at the bench, handing out water bottles and towels to the line and backs before taking one for himself. Agon hasn't moved from the field, still as a statue, eyes locked on the opposite bench where Shin is shrugging out of his jersey and shoulderpads, inspecting his hand where the younger twin had shook it after the game (fully intent on breaking it). 

"Christmas Bowl," Kurita says, still panting and bruised from a series of brutal confrontations against Otawara, "we're going to the Christmas Bowl!"

Hiruma, who had played offense through the game (except for that break in the fourth quarter when the twins had thrown the White Knights defense into chaos), is exhausted but ecstatic. The line was overwhelmingly powerful, and Shin is like Agon-- the kind of player who can smash the odds to pieces. He's sure that he's got a few fractured ribs; the Spear Tackle takes on a whole new meaning when he's on the business end of it, but it doesn't matter. They won. 

He's standing with Musashi on the edge of the field, still taking in the cheers when a shadow falls over both of them and Kurita dumps a pile of towels on their sweat-damp heads, then a few water bottles. "Hiruma! Musashi!" 

"Fucking fatty," Hiruma yells, turning on Kurita, "watch where you drop that!"

Musashi calmly catches one of the bottles and takes a long drink, unscrews the cap and dumps the rest of it over his head. 

"Christmas Bowl," Kurita says again, happy tears already collecting in his eyes as he lunges forward to sweep Musashi and Hiruma into a hug, "we're going to the Christmas Bowl!"

They both dodge, so Kurita ends up with an armful of Ikkyu, who's equally cheerful. He struggles a little, grinning but apprehensive at the sheer strength and girth of the lineman's arms. "We couldn't have done it without you and Yamabushi-senpai, Kurita-san!" He finally manages to squirm out of Kurita's grasp and adds, "The line was _oni_ strong as usual!"

* * *

Unsui lowers his head so his chin touches the water, inhales and then dunks it under, drowning out the sound of the nearby waterfall, crickets and birds. The school wakes with the sun, so he schedules his runs to finish about half an hour before dawn, enough time to soak in Shinryuuji's hot springs before the first students crawl up and it gets crowded. It's not as if he needs that much sleep-- the school goes dark at exactly 10 PM when curfew kicks in, forested mountains all around the perimeter blocking out the city lights.

When he surfaces, he keeps his eyes closed, drags a hand down his face to wick off the water and braces his arms over the edge of the spring's stone basin, head falling back onto the warm rock. There's a presence behind him, but Unsui ignores it, expecting that when it wants to make itself known, it'll speak up.

"So this is where you are every morning, fucking monk."

"Hiruma," Unsui says, turning look over his shoulder at Hiruma's skinny legs, "what are you doing here?"

"Why the fuck else would I be here?" he asks, stepping into the springs and sinking easily into the water. "We just gave away our hidden cards for the Christmas Bowl."

"Couldn't be helped," Unsui replies easily, pulling his arms in and properly sitting on the ledge under the water, uncomfortably thrown out of his usual routine. He regards Hiruma carefully, not quite able to suppress a wry smile at the sight of a bruise the exact size and dimension of Shin's hand across his ribs, perfectly matching the one on his own. Agon and Ikkyu each have at least one. High school football is a lot of pressure; so is winning against the Golden Generation with five minutes to spare. 

Hiruma doesn't think it's that interesting though, and splashes water at Unsui until he manages to school his expression back into its usual serious set. "What's so funny, fucking monk?"

"I didn't expect," Unsui murmurs, "to see monsters like that in high school football."

Hiruma snorts, turns to sit sideways and crosses his arms over the edge of the spring, letting his chin drop to rest on them. "What do you know about Teikoku?"

"That they'll probably try to scout Agon and Ikkyu after that show yesterday."

"I mean seriously, fucking monk!" And then Unsui's shielding his face from another torrent of hot water as Hiruma adds, "That Tenma guy, he's there."

"Last year's ace runner." 

"I'll be honest with you," Hiruma says and Unsui raises an eyebrow because since when is Hiruma ever actually sincere about anything? But he patiently holds his gaze until he continues, "it's not the bastards who work hard or geniuses like your fucking twin that I hate dealing with."

Unsui's thinking about how much Hiruma seems to enjoy provoking Agon and decides that maybe he is being sincere.

"It's the hardworking geniuses at Teikoku that are fucking terrifying."

"I know what you mean," Unsui says weakly, "but coming from someone like you, that isn't very reassuring."

* * *

Teikoku's offensive backs tower over Agon, but the freshman linebacker bares his teeth and charges on in, because he's Kongo Agon and even a team of well-balanced trash is still trash. He won't admit to anyone that he's already acknowledged Teikoku's strength, and despite the fact that Shinryuuji is woefully behind by halftime, Unsui and Hiruma are both bent over a whiteboard with their coach, listening intently to his instructions. When he walks away, they're going at it with markers in hand.

The chances aren't zero. 

It's Hiruma's mantra, and Agon hates his fucking guts, but as long as the team doesn't hold him back, they can still win. He has his eye on one depressed-looking piece of trash who's talking shit about how they have no chance against the best players in Japan. Agon puts up with it until they've used up four downs with exactly zero gains in their first offense and he's muttering about how they won't win, they can't.

Agon confronts him and he nearly shits his pants, but he talks back which Agon can't fucking stand either. Unsui and Musashi are already dashing from the bench, but they don't make it in time to stop a brutal right hook to the fucker's jaw.

* * *

Unsui's about twenty times more focused than Agon is purely because he knows he's fighting a monster and all Agon can see is boring old Unko who _punches_ surprisingly hard and fast. Godspeed impulse, lightning-quick reflexes and Unsui knows it, knows the extent of Agon's abilities, so he's up close with one fist closed on Agon's shirt, while his other swings in from the side. When Agon blocks that, he sees Unsui's forehead rush in toward his face, and he jerks back quickly enough to avoid a broken nose but his vision goes white for a second and his twin just fucking headbutted him in the _face_ , the fucker.

"I don't need any trash on the team that thinks we're going to lose," Agon snarls, fingers digging into Unsui's wrist, teeth bared against the itch of blood trickling over his upper lip.

The older twin has a bloody nose, which Agon has now to match, a split lip and blood on his teeth. "You broke his jaw," Unsui rasps, voice watery, Agon assumes, because blood is still pouring down his throat, "you almost got expelled, you almost got the team suspended, have you ever thought about _anyone_ but yourself?"

They don't fight very often; Unsui always loses. But he's been simmering all day, smarting from the loss against Teikoku-- which he still thinks the Nagas could have won. If Agon were playing, if the team had stayed together even after Agon had stormed off the field, if they hadn't sighed and sat back and let the Alexanders steamroll over them. Even Hiruma's threats, Kurita's power and Ikkyu's focus couldn't bring back the morale of a team that had already lost its will to fight.

"Why the fuck should I think about trash like any bastard who gives up before the game ends?" Agon asks, eyes wide, as if he's truly curious for the answer, and Unsui's vision goes red.

Kurita grabs Agon by the elbow and forcefully breaks them up, five minutes later when he's finally heading in to change from the field, and Agon has an ugly bruise on the left side of his mouth and a few bruises on his ribs and shins, to boot. Musashi has Unsui by the arms and the older twin is unsteady on his feet, a cut over his brow, his right eye nearly swollen shut, favoring his right arm and still struggling to take another swing at Agon. 

Kurita's nearly worked himself into a frenzy by the time Hiruma arrives, and Hiruma only drags him out of the locker room, out of their way. Musashi lets Unsui down easily, once he's given up on getting out of his grip. Unsui twists a sheet of tissue, stuffs it up his nostril and sits heavily on the bench, his back to Agon while he catches his breath. 

Agon sits, finally, his back to Unsui's and he wipes his face with a sleeve, snorting when it comes away stained with sticky, half-dried blood. "God fucking damnit, Unko."

"Next time," Unsui says, voice back to its usual calm, "I'll handle discipline on the field."

"I can make it look like a fucking accident," Agon says, and Unsui knows he can.

"Don't waste your energy on guys like him."

"He's off the team anyway," Hiruma cuts in as he finally rejoins them, flashing his threat notebook. "Our line is better off without cowards," he finishes, though he really means 'our line is better off not pissing Agon off in the middle of the fucking match, what a moron.'

"You look like a mess," Musashi says helpfully, addressing both of them. True to form, he doesn't say anything else, striding past them while he shrugs out of his jersey and shoulder pads. When he disappears into the showers, there's the cheerful sound of running water. 

"Are you two okay?" Kurita asks, "We can go to the hospital or the school nurse or--"

"We're fine," Unsui says at the same time Agon growls, "Shut up."

"Next year," Hiruma says as he and Kurita duck into the showers to clean up, "we'd better fucking _win_ that Christmas Bowl."


	4. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (winter)

Of the Nagas, only Unsui and Ikkyu (along with Hiruma and Agon, from external sources) get chocolate on Valentine's Day. It's an all-boys school. Most of them are too caught up with practice to date outside Shinryuuji and one thing led to another and...

"Unsui-san," Ikkyu says when he pulls him aside later, a little desperately, "for White Day, can you help me?"

"I-- yes. Of course."

"I don't know how to make chocolate and it's _oni_ rude not to retun some to Sanzo-san, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Unsui says, expression thoughtful. "You can probably just buy some, but--"

"But he went and hand-made this!" Ikkyu's looking down, almost in awe of the chocolate in his hands. It's heart-shaped and simple, delicately patterned on the surface. It's white chocolate, which not a whole lot of people outside of his siblings know he likes, and meticulously wrapped. 

Unsui's is dark chocolate, and smaller, only very slightly sweet, the natural bitterness still shining through. He watches his diet and doesn't do well with sweets and that's something only Agon really knows, and he's sure Sanzo didn't go and ask _him_. Then again, when he and Ikkyu had taken the chocolates out of their respective shoe lockers that morning, Hiruma had nearly broken a rib laughing. Mystery solved.

It's incredibly thoughtful though, and their runner had gone and made two batches of two different kinds of chocolate, and probably two different molds and even different color icing for their names, and Unsui would feel pretty guilty if he just got him store-bought chocolates in return. Though he's not honestly sure of the protocol involved at an all-boys' school. 

"Yeah. One of Agon's girlfriends asked me to help her out yesterday, so I have a pretty good idea of how to..." Unsui trails off, trying to ignore Ikkyu's half-jealous, half-awed stare. "Anyway, it's not too difficult. Do you know what kind he likes?"

"No," Ikkyu says despondently, "and I don't want to ask Hiruma-san."

* * *

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Agon says later as he walks into Aya's kitchen with his arm around her waist. 

She smiles at him, runs a finger down his chest and lets her head drop onto his shoulder. "Unsui-kun asked to borrow my kitchen. He helped me out last week when I was making chocolates for you, you know."

"I ate Unko-chan's chocolate? That's fucking disgusting."

"I just helped carry the supplies," Unsui replied. He'd told her things Agon never bothered to, that Agon doesn't like sweets and he likes the taste of coffee, and that if she really wants to get him a present he'd like that won't cost a fortune, that he could use some more lenses for his Juliets. She's sweet, smart and thoughtful and rich, which is probably why Agon hasn't stopped talking to her a week after the holiday. He's also wearing his new emerald iridium-tinted lenses. 

Unsui knows how to use his resources, too; they can help each other out. Ikkyu looks up from the cookbook, whisk in hand, face flushing but determined to look cool in front of the cute girl. "Hi, Agon-san."

"I left my phone here," Aya says sheepishly, "and we were close."

Agon leans against the counter when she ducks into her bedroom, dips his finger into the big red bowl of chocolate and tastes it. "Oi, Unko, save some for me."

"How many?" Unsui asks automatically, because Agon's never just seeing _one_ girl at any point in time, and they do have quite a lot of extra chocolate.

"Four for the ones that aren't complete wastes of my time."

Ikkyu's lips are pressed together in a thin line, determined not to let anything slip. When Agon and Aya leave, he says plaintively, "Unsui-san," and puts the whisk back into the bowl.

"I know," Unsui says, and they leave it at that. 

Hiruma shows up with a camera when they're finishing up some football-shaped chocolate for Sanzo and four heart-shaped ones for Agon, snapping pictures furiously and complaining that it's no fun if Unsui is completely undisturbed at the thought of photos of him in an apron pouring chocolate into a heart-shaped mold floating around. Ikkyu, conversely, is suitably mortified.

* * *

 _First time in the history of Shinryuuji,_ coach says on the last day of practice for the school year, and Unsui looks over at Hiruma, who grins back. _The new co-captains are Yoichi and Unsui._

"Did you hear that, fucking team?!" Hiruma screeches, whipping a machine gun from behind his back and firing it off in the air while coach looks on, an expression of resignation on his face. 

"Ah, well, it went as we expected, right? They've pretty much been running the show from the start," Gojyo mutters to the rest of the Saiyuki Trio.

"That's our cue to get back to practice," Unsui says, discreetly high-fiving the hand Hiruma extends to him behind his back. "I'll be in the gym with defense," he adds, because Hiruma's an offensive powerhouse and defense bores him and everyone knows it, "anyone who plays both, stick with Hiruma. There aren't enough machines to handle all of us."

"Fucking old man, go with the defense," Hiruma says to Musashi, idly twirling a shotgun. "When was the last time you checked your benchpress?"

"Second year middle school," he replies, and takes off with Unsui.

"A hundred kilos," Unsui says later, as Musashi sets the bar back down onto the rack, "and you're a _kicker_?"

"I help my dad with construction and played line at Maoh too," Musashi clarifies. "Not enough players."

"If you don't mind backing up the line sometimes, you're stronger than any of the second string." Unsui jots something down on a clipboard, sets it down on a nearby bench and nods. "But we'll need to keep your stamina up for kicks, so only in emergencies."

"Yeah," Musashi says, "that's what Hiruma said too."

"Good." Unsui doesn't foresee many problems between him and Hiruma; the way they play their cards is different, but Hiruma likes numbers and statistics even more than he does. The Shinryuuji Naga rarely have to rely on trick plays, but the Fall Tournament next year won't be so easy that Unsui can rely on their sure things and steady, relentless advance. 

"Hey, Unsui."

"What is it?"

"Congratulations on making captain."

"Aah, thanks. I won't let the team down."

"Good," Musashi says, expression serious, "because we need to talk."

* * *

Unsui waits for the team to gather in the locker room after practice. He changes out of his jersey and into some casual clothes instead of the Shinryuuji robes, which is a Big Deal for a student who's rarely out of uniform. Everyone's watching him out of the corners of their eyes when he picks up his cleats and does his customary check of the spikes and seams. Unsui's shoes are always meticulously kept; he has a pair for every kind of weather and field, and in the year he's been at Shinryuuji, he's one of only a few Nagas who have never employed their password.

Today, he easily pops a spike out from the heel of his cleats, then two others, frowning. He never was the type to make an excuse, but he's too careful with his equipment to make this kind of timing an accident.

"Hiruma," he calls across the locker room, "how are your spikes?"

"Falling apart, fucking monk," and the sound of a clip locking into the mag of the gun Hiruma managed to sneak in is audible even across the deadly silent changing area, "just like everyone else's."

Unsui nods, expression set as usual. "I think it's about time we got new ones," he says, "break them in over the summer and when practice starts again, they'll be good to go."

There's a collective groan; of course Unsui would take even this seriously. He rarely passes on the occasions the team announces shoe-shopping trips (really codeword for "I need protein!")-- cooperation exercises are always helpful-- but he also never initiates them. Leave it to serious, responsible Unsui to turn dinner into a football excursion.

Kurita says later, as they're walking to dinner ahead of the rest of the team. "Congratulations, Unsui-kun!"

"Hiruma-san too," Ikkyu chimes in. "Though I don't think anyone was surprised at all."

Musashi's walking ahead of the group, hands deep in his pockets, but he looks over his shoulder and grins at the four walking behind. "Hurry up. The reservation only lasts for another ten minutes."

"It's your treat, fucking monk," Hiruma says, elbowing Unsui in the shoulder. "Kekeke, we can finally eat something besides that shitty vegetarian food."

Unsui knows Hiruma had already paid off the tab, but he's been sworn to secrecy so he doesn't mention it, only pins him with a steady, amused look while Hiruma refuses to meet his eyes. As they're turning the corner, the door to an apartment building slams open-- Agon falls into step beside Unsui and throws an arm over his shoulders. "Yo, Unko," he drawls, "all-you-can-eat, right?"

Unsui nods, not even surprised that his twin had heard about this despite having not shown up for practice. "The place you went last week."

* * *

"Dropping out to help my father's company while he's in the hospital," Musashi repeats to a silent table. "I'm going back to Tokyo."

"He told me about it and I talked to Coach," Unsui adds, hands resting on his knees. "We still have a kicker, but he won't have Musashi's power. Hiruma and I will adjust the lineup as needed." 

Hiruma's teeth clench and Unsui thinks he can almost hear them grinding. Kurita's uncharacteristically quiet.

"What a fucking waste of time," Agon snorts, brushing his hair out of his face before snapping up a perfectly-seared piece of meat still sizzling on the grill. He looks across the table, not at Musashi but at Unsui, as if telling him that it looks like he's not the only idiot holding himself back for someone else's sake, and see how much it fucking sucks, Unko-chan?

Unsui looks at Hiruma instead. He had to know that this was coming, though probably not so soon. Musashi had been trying to put off his return for as long as possible, but his father had collapsed that morning-- he had delayed heading home for the day, but only because it would be the last time.

"Fucking old man," Hiruma says, and Unsui can see the gears in his 500-kilometer-a-second brain turning, and turning, and coming up with nothing.

* * *

Unsui doesn't try to stop him when he kicks the bench over, after Musashi's left, helmets and water bottles and all, or when he starts kicking the lockers, leaving shoe-shaped dents in the thin metal. Kurita does; he's shouting Hiruma's name, begging him to stop, even though Unsui's sure he wants to join the other quarterback in his methodic destruction of the Naga locker room.

It's when Hiruma starts slamming his fists against the lockers that Unsui catches his wrists, holding them down with probably more force than strictly necessary.

"The fuck do you think you're doing," Hiruma snarls, but he doesn't try to struggle out of his grip, fully aware of the 20kg difference in their bench presses even when he's trying to rampage. 

"You're our quarterback." Practical as ever, understanding but firm, Unsui says, "Get it out of your system, but don't take it out on your hands." 

Hiruma's voice is hoarse, throat scratchy from screaming and he hisses back, "What do you know, you fucking monk?"

Kurita's crying, but that's not new. He's always bounced back, but Hiruma's a different story. This is the first time Unsui's ever seen Hiruma helpless, and he decides that he doesn't like it; doesn't like knowing that there's no solution he can whip out of his threat notebook or a way to bluff through this situation in a way that'll get Musashi back on the team. Unsui _doesn't_ know what it's like, to be Hiruma. 

He hasn't made many close friends like Hiruma and Musashi and Kurita; the closest anyone could have come is Agon, and they haven't been close since before they started middle school. Hiruma knows it as well as anyone _could_ know. "I don't have to know anything," Unsui says (and he thinks back to the last thing Musashi said to him, _Don't let that idiot do anything stupid_ ), "the only thing we can do is keep winning until he's back on the field with us."

The next day, Unsui's taking his time between classes the day before spring break and the third-years' graduation ceremony, and he's walking past the chemistry room when Hiruma pops out of it, foot aimed squarely at his ass. Hiruma walks away without a word, turns the corner and he's back to form during a quick team meeting between freshmen Nagas that afternoon. 

Unsui, on the other hand, has to sit carefully during meditation class and gets scolded for shifting around too much.


	5. "Why did you tie a middle school student up in the middle of Deimon's football field?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (spring)

Exam week smacks Shinryuuji across the face like a sledgehammer, usual calm intensity of the school grounds thrumming with anxiety and stress. The students start looking haggard, unfocused.

Agon goes missing for the week except for when he has an exam, which is par for the course, really, though he replies to Unsui's texts at least once a day to complain about his nagging and ignore all the rest. 

Coincidentally, coach reduces training time by half and taps Unsui and Hiruma to tutor the team. Hiruma does recon; gathers the Nagas' schedules, finds out their grades, their strengths and weaknesses. Unsui assembles the material, all the information that's likely to end up on the tests, bypasses anything too minor to really make a difference, then lays it all out in packets of practice problems in gradiated levels of difficulty. Too much information would only clutter their minds and squeeze out the essential things. 

They both stay up late into the nights to review with the rest of the first-years, red-inking their way through reams of looseleaf as their teammates finish pages and pages of mock exams. Unsui handles the humanities track subjects while Hiruma tackles the maths and sciences-- it's not that either of them have weaknesses, but both have their own specialties, too. (Hiruma's English is better than Unsui's, but not by enough to make a difference on the high school level.) They only chose the most efficient way to cover all their bases.

Kurita and Ikkyu disappear around noon one day early on and come back loaded down with cofee-making supplies, which they set up in Hiruma's room, where the two quarterbacks usually grade and correct the work (which gets done in Unsui's room, which is the only one really free of distractions, which is probably why Agon had cleared out). They appreciate it most when sleep becomes Something Everyone Else Is Doing, though it's not like Hiruma's going to complain if Kurita and Ikkyu fall asleep on Musashi's old futon while they're trying to keep him and Unsui company. 

(Which is, coincidentally, the perfect time for them to develop a sign language code for use mid-game when the numbers and characters start blurring together and both of them sorely need a break.)

Their entire floor ends up smelling like coffee for the remainder of the week, which is an unofficially banned substance most of the time, but no one makes a peep about it and they open all the windows when Coach and teachers walk by. Teamwork at its best.

The Nagas pass their exams-- not all of them by a very wide margin, but the point is that they all _passed_ , with no one scoring low enough to raise any red flags. 

Agon's ranked first in the school, which drives everyone on the team absolutely nuts. He'd flipped through Unsui's notes once, breezed through every equation, every practice problem, memorized each meticulous notation in the margins of his paper. Unsui doesn't even remember the last time he saw his twin in class.

Hiruma and Unsui tie for second, which the rest of the team expected. Hiruma never takes notes, always seems to absorb and process information like some sort of endless sponge of knowledge. He thinks like a computer-- input fact, cross-reference and categorize; when necessary, spit it back out precisely. 

Unsui's the type who spends at least half an hour a day studying; he might know and understand the information the first time, but he reviews anyway, carefully engraving the procedures and facts into his mind, training himself to know the patterns until they become a part of him, ingrained in the muscles of his hand, permanently etched in the wrinkles of his brain.

Training resumes with a vengeance, though the Coach does take it easy on Unsui and Hiruma until they've recovered from the brutal, week-long tutoring session.

* * *

Unsui gets a text from Hiruma two days before the start of their second year that only says 「found something interesting」, along with a blurry picture. A few minutes later, he gets another one that says, 「meet me in deimon」.

He takes the train after consulting a map, a schedule and Agon. Agon's on his way to Tokyo anyway, so they take the train together (Unsui knows he looks like a tourist, especially since he has to buy his ticket at the machine, but it's really hard to stop looking around). 

Agon meets a petite, fashionably-dressed girl at the train station and sees Unsui off with a wave and a light shove, putting on a show of brotherly affection for her. Unsui arrives at Deimon's field and pauses when he sees Hiruma standing in front of someone. He approaches slowly, then kneels, dropping a hand to the top of Cerberos's head when he's in range to scratch behind his ear. "Hiruma," Unsui says, already used to his antics but never quite understanding them, "why did you tie a middle school student up in the middle of Deimon's football field?"

Hiruma prods the kid with a toe. Grins.

Unsui looks again, this time paying special attention to his build. Scrawny and light, but toned legs-- it's not much to go on, but Hiruma's looking at him expectantly. "Runner, then? This doesn't mean you can kidnap him."

There's an emphatic nod of agreement, but the kid has duct tape over his mouth so Unsui flashes him a sympathetic look and then rips it off his face. 

"E-excuse me! I don't know who either of you are, but whatever it is you want, y-you have the wrong person... probably."

He looks like he expects Unsui to untie him and let him go, but Sanzo is Shinryuuji's only runner (besides Agon, of course) and he's fine, but he's not breaking any records. He's a pretty good receiver, too, and Ikkyu could use some help-- Unsui's hands pause on the knots at the kid's wrist. "Do you have a name?"

Hiruma's snickering, but he whips out a student handbook that's definitely not his and reads off the page. "Kobayakawa Sena."

"Look! I'm really sorry I stepped on your dog's tail, and I won't do it again!"

"He's transferring to Shinryuuji under the athletic scholarship."

"I'm really not!" 

Unsui frowns, but he doesn't dispute it while he finishes untying Kobayakawa, carefully inspecting his wrists as he does, but the ropes haven't chafed them so he figures Hiruma had been careful. Sena's still sitting, a little disoriented and a lot scared while Unsui and Hiruma talk over his head. 

"Did he run a forty?"

"Yeah, fucking monk-- it's 4.2 with Cerberos on his tail. Got some nice, sharp cuts, too."

There's a long moment of silence and Sena's looking at him like the world would end if Unsui took Hiruma's side. "I trust your judgment," he says slowly, and Sena's expression of betrayal actually makes Unsui feel a little sorry for him, so he finishes, "but your methods are too extreme. We can't force people to join the Nagas against their will."

Hiruma tosses Sena's handbook to Unsui, looks him in the eye and sees absolutely no sign of resignation or loss, only grim determination. He has blackmail material to spare, but even Hiruma can admit that the skill of 'convincing people to do things while making them believe they actually wanted to in the first place' is one that Unsui has the advantage in. So he snorts and walks away.

* * *

"Sorry about that," Unsui says, giving Sena a hand up and returning his book, "my teammate is really serious about American Football." The irony of implying to strangers that Hiruma's more serious about football than he is isn't lost on Unsui, but he likes to keep that side of himself under control. 

"It's fine," Sena answers agreeably while he dusts off the seat of his pants and ruefully massages his wrists, "I'm sorry you had to go through all the trouble of... coming out here to save me."

"Are you going to Deimon?" Unsui asks as he sticks his arm back into his robes. "Congratulations."

"Actually, I just finished taking the exam, so I hope so!" Sena looks at the school building, across a patch of grass and smiles mildly at the scenery, "I already know someone at Deimon, and I was supposed to meet her to walk home, but she's probably already left by now."

Unsui claps him on the shoulder, glances behind them and then sighs. "How about I go with you instead? Hiruma might come back."

"D-do you think he will?"

"I really couldn't tell you." 

They walk in silence for a while; Sena's directing the way but it doesn't quite feel like it, trailing behind Unsui, looking over his shoulder every few minutes. When he finally breaks the silence, he sounds moderately calm. "So you um, said you played rugby?"

"American football. It's a little different."

"Oh," Sena says sheepishly, cowed at the curtness of Unsui's reply, but the older boy turns around, stops, nods. His expression is mild when he says helpfully, "I'm Kongo Unsui."

"I'm--"

"I know."

"Right." Sena stuffs his hands into his pockets, and finally gets a good look at Unsui's uniform. "Do you really go to Shinryuuji?"

"Yes."

"I heard the exam is really hard."

"It's a lot of work," he says diplomatically. Difficult, but not impossible. He'd scored fairly high on the entrance exams, but still not nearly as high as Agon, though he had studied and his twin hadn't bothered.

"It's all the way in Kanagawa."

"It has the best football team in Kantou."

"It sounds like you like football a lot, Unsui-san."

Unsui doesn't try to deflect the question, as he usually would. He starts walking again, eyes on the sidewalk ahead, mind on the year that's just passed and the one that's about to start. "It's fun."

"In any case, I..."

Sena pauses when Unsui slows down, lets him catch up and pins him with a steady look. 

Mamori's always watched over him, always dictated the direction his activities should take-- it's safe, and he likes it, but the idea of going to Shinryuuji, infamous all over the Tokyo Area for the level of its sports teams and academics, both scares and honestly sort of tempts him. Sena says, trying more to convince himself than anything else, "I don't have the grades to get into Shinryuuji... and I wouldn't have the grades to stay in it, either."

"There's an athletic scholarship," Unsui says evenly, as if he can't hear the anxiety in Sena's voice, "and if you need help with any of the work, it's not a problem if you ask me."

Sena doesn't say anything for the next few blocks, but when they draw up to his house he stops and puts a hand on the gate, turns one last considering look on Unsui, who'd been on his phone for most of the rest of the walk.

The taller boy rubs the back of his neck and flashes Sena a smile, corners of his lips just barely turning up. "Sorry. I'm not trying to pressure you, but we could use someone with your speed. It's faster than anything I've seen at the high school level."

Unsui seems like the type who's rarely vocal about praise-- it's all been brutally honest assessment from the moment he opened his mouth around Sena, but even just that one comment sounds like a high compliment, eliciting a flush of pride that Sena didn't even know he was capable of having. It sounds like it was designed just to make him feel good, make him want to test his mettle on the best American Football team in Kantou-- and most of all not let down this guy he met _less than an hour ago_. Probably because Unsui had been so polite about the whole thing.

"But you haven't even--"

"Hiruma sent me the video while we were walking."

"... oh."

"This is your house, right? It was nice meeting you."

"Unsui-san?"

"Yes?"

There's a long silence where the words stick in Sena's throat, as if clinging to the back of his tongue, but he coughs once, twice, summons his nerve and says, "Can you tell me about the application?"


End file.
